More fall victim to cryptocurrency scams

IPOH: A consultant in Perak and a retiree in Pahang have lost close to RM2mil to investment scams.

Perak police chief Comm Datuk Seri Mohd Yusri Hassan Basri said the first victim, 37, only found out that he had been cheated recently after trying to withdraw some profits from his supposed investment.

“A police report was lodged on Thursday. The victim from Taman Perak claimed he had been cheated into investing in a cryptocurrency scheme,” he said in a statement yesterday.

Comm Mohd Yusri said the consultant was introduced by a Facebook friend to the cryptocurrency scheme last September.

“He made 44 transactions into various bank accounts, totalling RM1,651,585.

“When he tried to withdraw some of his profits, he was told he had to pay taxes to the Saudi Arabian government.

“It was then that the consultant realised he had been scammed,” he said.

Comm Mohd Yusri said people should be careful about investment offers on social media platforms, especially those that are not approved by Bank Negara or the Securities Commission.

He added that they can contact the National Scam Response Centre number at 997 if they are victims of a non-existent investment scheme or have just made transactions to a mule account.

In KUANTAN, a 55-year-old retiree lost RM260,388 to a similar investment scam.

Pahang police chief Comm Datuk Seri Yahaya Othman said the victim was attracted to the scheme after being told that it was syariah-compliant and offered high returns.

“He began participating in the scheme early last month with a RM500 investment that brought in RM110 in profits.

“This prompted him to invest a larger amount. He was then given a link to register on a website for monitoring stock movements.

“However, when the victim tried to withdraw some profits, he was told to pay an investment tax,” he said in a statement, Bernama reported.

Comm Yahaya said the victim made 14 online transactions to five accounts but only realised he had been cheated when he was continuously refused permission to withdraw the returns.

A police report was lodged at the Kuala Lipis police station on Friday.

In yet another case, a 50-year-old nurse in Jerantut was cheated of RM105,000 by a scammer posing as a National Scam Response Centre officer.

According to Comm Yahaya, the victim resorted to taking out a personal loan and pawning her jewellery after being deceived into believing that she was involved in money laundering activities.